The significance of Daniel Webster's argument went far beyond the immediate proposal at hand. It was not a Union to be torn up without bloodshed; for nerves and arteries were interwoven with its roots and tendrils, sustaining the lives and interests of twelve million inhabitants. Rush-Bagot Treaty Structure & Effects | What was the Rush-Bagot Agreement? When the honorable member rose, in his first speech, I paid him the respect of attentive listening; and when he sat down, though surprised, and I must say even astonished, at some of his opinions, nothing was farther from my intention than to commence any personal warfare: and through the whole of the few remarks I made in answer, I avoided, studiously and carefully, everything which I thought possible to be construed into disrespect. But to remove all doubt it is expressly declared, by the 10th article of the amendment of the Constitution, that the powers not delegated to the states, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.. . Some of his historical deductions may be questioned; but far above all possible error on the part of her leaders, stood colonial and Revolutionary New England, and the sturdy, intelligent, and thriving people whose loyalty to the Union had never failed, and whose home, should ill befall the nation, would yet prove liberty's last shelter. It cannot be doubted, and is not denied, that before the formation of the constitution, each state was an independent sovereignty, possessing all the rights and powers appertaining to independent nations; nor can it be denied that, after the Constitution was formed, they remained equally sovereign and independent, as to all powers, not expressly delegated to the federal government. I deem far otherwise of the Union of the states; and so did the Framers of the Constitution themselves. Webster's argument that the constitution should stand as a powerful uniting force between the states rather than a treaty between sovereign states held as a key concept in America's ideas about the federal government. Speech of Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, January 20, 1830. For the next several days, the men traded speeches which contemporaries of the time described as the greatest orations ever delivered in the Senate. He must say to his followers [members of the state militia], defend yourselves with your bayonets; and this is warcivil war. Besides that, however, the federal government was still figuring out its role in American society. . All of these ideas, however, are only parts of the main point. . . I understand the gentleman to maintain, that, without revolution, without civil commotion, without rebellion, a remedy for supposed abuse and transgression of the powers of the general government lies in a direct appeal to the interference of the state governments. . In contrasting the state of Ohio with Kentucky, for the purpose of pointing out the superiority of the former, and of attributing that superiority to the existence of slavery, in the one state, and its absence in the other, I thought I could discern the very spirit of the Missouri question[1] intruded into this debate, for objects best known to the gentleman himself. This was the man to fire an aristocracy of fellow citizens ready to arm when their interests were in danger, and upon him, it devolved to advance the cause of South Carolina, break down the tariff, and fascinate the Union with the new rattlesnake theories. The action, the drama, the suspensewho needs the movies? . Such interference has never been supposed to be within the power of government; nor has it been, in any way, attempted. . . . This important consideration, seriously and deeply impressed on our minds, led each state in the Convention to be less rigid, on points of inferior magnitude, than might have been otherwise expected.. The gentleman, therefore, only follows out his own principles; he does no more than arrive at the natural conclusions of his own doctrines; he only announces the true results of that creed, which he has adopted himself, and would persuade others to adopt, when he thus declares that South Carolina has no interest in a public work in Ohio. The real significance of this debate was in each man's interpretation of the United States Constitution. The Most Famous Senate Speech January 26, 1830 The debate began simply enough, centering on the seemingly prosaic subjects of tariff and public land policy. Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) | Case, Significance & Summary. . This leads us to inquire into the origin of this government, and the source of its power. . 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I understand him to maintain an authority, on the part of the states, thus to interfere, for the purpose of correcting the exercise of power by the general government, of checking it, and of compelling it to conform to their opinion of the extent of its powers. New England, the Union, and the Constitution in its integrity, all were triumphantly vindicated. Ostend Manifesto of 1854 Overview & Purpose | What was the Ostend Manifesto? . . You see, to the south, the Constitution was essentially a treaty signed between sovereign states. . Broadside Advertisement for Runaway Slave, Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Free-Soiler, Free & Slave-holding States and Territories. . Inflamed and mortified at this repulse, Hayne soon returned to the assault, primed with a two-day speech, which at great length vaunted the patriotism of South Carolina and bitterly attacked New England, dwelling particularly upon her conduct during the late war. Sir, I cordially respond to that appeal. I now proceed to show that it is perfectly safe, and will practically have no effect but to keep the federal government within the limits of the Constitution, and prevent those unwarrantable assumptions of power, which cannot fail to impair the rights of the states, and finally destroy the Union itself. . The 1830 Webster-Hayne debate centered around the South Carolina nullification crisis of the late 1820s, but historians have largely ignored the sectional interests underpinning Webster's argument on behalf of Unionism and a transcendent nationalism. What started as a debate over the Tariff of Abominations soon morphed into debates over state and federal sovereignty and liberty and disunion. Debate on the Constitutionality of the Mexican War, Letters and Journals from the Oregon Trail. Drama, suspense, it's all there. Foote Idea To Limit The Sale Of Public Lands In The West To New Settlers. The WebsterHayne debate was a debate in the United States between Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina that took place on January 1927, 1830 on the topic of protectionist tariffs. Webster's second reply to Hayne, in January 1830, became a famous defense of the federal union: "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." Just beneath the surface of this debate lay the elements of the developing sectional crisis between North and South. The next day, however, Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster rose with his reply, and the northern states knew they had found their champion. When the gentleman says the Constitution is a compact between the states, he uses language exactly applicable to the old Confederation. . The Webster-Hayne debate laid out key issues faced by the Senate in the 1820s and 1830s. That led into a debate on the economy, in which Webster attacked the institution of slavery and Hayne labeled the policy of protectionist tariffs as the consolidation of a strong central government, which he called the greatest of evils. Correspondence Between Anthony Butler and Presiden State of the Union Address Part II (1846). I will yield to no gentleman here in sincere attachment to the Union,but it is a Union founded on the Constitution, and not such a Union as that gentleman would give us, that is dear to my heart. While the Union lasts, we have high, exciting, gratifying prospects spread out before us, for us and our children. . Available in hard copy and for download. . Is it the creature of the state legislatures, or the creature of the people? And what has been the consequence? It moves vast bodies, and gives to them one and the same direction. The faction of voters in the North were against slavery and feared it spreading into new territory. . Webster was eloquent, he was educated, he was witty, and he was a staunch defender of American liberty. Strange was it, however, that in heaping reproaches upon the Hartford Convention he did not mark how nearly its leaders had mapped out the same line of opposition to the national Government that his State now proposed to take, both relying upon the arguments of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 179899. Can any man believe, sir, that, if twenty-three millions per annum was now levied by direct taxation, or by an apportionment of the same among the states, instead of being raised by an indirect tax, of the severe effect of which few are aware, that the waste and extravagance, the unauthorized imposition of duties, and appropriations of money for unconstitutional objects, would have been tolerated for a single year? It was of a partizan and censorious character and drew nearly all the chief senators out. In our contemplation, Carolina and Ohio are parts of the same country; states, united under the same general government, having interests, common, associated, intermingled. . . . What they said I believe; fully and sincerely believe, that the Union of the states is essential to the prosperity and safety of the states. The Webster-Hayne debate, which again was just one section of this greater discussion in the Senate, is traditionally considered to have begun when South Carolina senator Robert Y. Hayne stood to argue against Connecticut's proposal, accusing the northeastern states of trying to stall development of the West so that southern agricultural interests couldn't expand. In January 1830, a debate on the nature of sovereignty in the American federal union occurred in the United States Senate between Senators Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Robert Hayne of South Carolina. - Definition and Uses, Public Speaking: Assignment 1 - Informative Speech, Public Speaking: Assignment 3 - Special Occasion Speech, The Role of Probability Distributions, Random Numbers & the Computer in Simulations, The Monte Carlo Simulation: Scope & Common Applications, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community, The methods by which the federal government earned its revenue, The federal government's surveying and selling of land west of the Mississippi River, The issue of slavery, which was beginning to divide the Northern and Southern states, The balance of power between federal and state governments. . Ham, one of Noahs sons, saw him uncovered, for which Noah cursed him by making Hams son, Canaan, a slave to Ham's brothers. Thousands of these deluded victims of fanaticism were seduced into the enjoyment of freedom in our Northern cities. Webster realized that if the social, political, and economic elite of Massachusetts and the Northeast were to once again lay claim to national leadership, he had to justify New England's previous history of sectionalism within a framework of nationalistic progression. we find the most opposite and irreconcilable opinions between the two parties which I have before described. . . An accomplished politician, Hayne was an eloquent orator who enthralled his audiences. Conversation-based seminars for collegial PD, one-day and multi-day seminars, graduate credit seminars (MA degree), online and in-person. . All regulated governments, all free governments, have been broken up by similar disinterested and well-disposed interference! Certainly, sir, I am, and ever have been of that opinion. Battle of Fort Sumter in the Civil War | Who Won the Battle of Fort Sumter? . But his standpoint was purely local and sectional. Even Benton, whose connection with the debate made him at first belittle these grand utterances, soon felt the danger and repudiated the company of the nullifiers. If the gentleman provokes the war, he shall have war. Jackson himself would raise a national toast for 'the Union' later that year. It is the servant of four-and-twenty masters, of different wills and different purposes, and yet bound to obey all. Let their last feeble and lingering glance, rather behold the gorgeous Ensign of the Republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original luster, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscuredbearing for its motto, no such miserable interrogatory as, what is all this worth? . Benton was rising in renown as the advocate not only of Western settlers but of a new theory that the public lands should be given away instead of sold to them. . . Sir, there exists, moreover, a deep and settled conviction of the benefits, which result from a close connection of all the states, for purposes of mutual protection and defense. His ideas about federalism and his interpretation of the Constitution as a document uniting the states under one supreme law were highly influential in the eyes of his contemporaries and would influence the rebuilding of the nation after the Civil War. But the gentleman apprehends that this will make the Union a rope of sand. Sir, I have shown that it is a power indispensably necessary to the preservation of the constitutional rights of the states, and of the people. See Genesis 9:2027. Well, the southern states were infuriated. . . . Eloquence threw open the portals of eternal day. The gentleman has made an eloquent appeal to our hearts in favor of union. Nullification, Webster maintained, was a political absurdity. This means that South Carolina is essentially its own nation, Georgia is its own nation, and so on. By means of missionaries and political tracts, the scheme was in a great measure successful. The great debate, which culminated in Hayne's encounter with Webster, came about in a somewhat casual way. . They have agreed, that certain specific powers shall be exercised by the federal government; but the moment that government steps beyond the limits of its charter, the right of the states to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits the authorities, rights, and liberties, appertaining to them,[7] is as full and complete as it was before the Constitution was formed. Some of Webster's personal friends had felt nervous over what appeared to them too hasty a period for preparation. The idea of a strong federal government The ability of the people to revolt against an unfair government The theory that the states' may vote against unfair laws The role of the president in commanding the government 2 See answers Advertisement holesstanham Answer: The excited crowd which had packed the Senate chamber, filling every seat on the floor and in the galleries, and all the available standing room, dispersed after the orator's last grand apostrophe had died away in the air, with national pride throbbing at the heart. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Those who are in favor of consolidation; who are constantly stealing power from the states and adding strength to the federal government; who, assuming an unwarrantable jurisdiction over the states and the people, undertake to regulate the whole industry and capital of the country. . Are we yet at the mercy of state discretion, and state construction? Speech on the Repeal of the Missouri Compromise. The Confederation was, in strictness, a compact; the states, as states, were parties to it. . . But his reply was gathered from the choicest arguments and the most decadent thoughts that had long floated through his brain while this crisis was gathering; and bringing these materials together in a lucid and compact shape, he calmly composed and delivered before another crowded and breathless auditory a speech full of burning passages, which will live as long as the American Union, and the grandest effort of his life. The heated speeches were unplanned and stemmed from the debate over a resolution by Connecticut Senator Samuel A. See what I mean? I supposed, that on this point, no two gentlemen in the Senate could entertain different opinions. While the debaters argued about slavery, the economy, protection tariffs, and western land, the real implication was the meaning of the United States Constitution. Sir, the opinion which the honorable gentleman maintains, is a notion, founded in a total misapprehension, in my judgment, of the origin of this government, and of the foundation on which it stands. We, sir, who oppose the Carolina doctrine, do not deny that the people may, if they choose, throw off any government, when it becomes oppressive and intolerable, and erect a better in its stead. The Hayne-Webster Debate was an unplanned series of speeches in the Senate, during which Robert Hayne of South Carolina interpreted the Constitution as little more than a treaty between sovereign states, and Daniel Webster expressed the concept of the United States as one nation. 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Hayne quotes from Thomas Jefferson to William Branch Giles, December 26, 1825, https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-william-branch-giles/?_sft_document_author=thomas-jefferson. We do not impose geographical limits to our patriotic feeling or regard; we do not follow rivers and mountains, and lines of latitude, to find boundaries, beyond which public improvements do not benefit us. Which of the following statements best represents the desires of the Northern states during the debate of Missouri statehood? Senator Foote, of Connecticut, submitted a proposition inquiring into the expediency of limiting the sales of public lands to those already in the market. The Virginia Resolution asserted that when the federal government undertook the deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of powers not granted to it in the constitution, states had the right and duty to interpose their authority to prevent this evil. If these opinions be thought doubtful, they are, nevertheless, I trust, neither extraordinary nor disrespectful. to expose them to the temptations inseparable from the direction and control of a fund which might be enlarged or diminished almost at pleasure, without imposing burthens upon the people? Webster rose the next day in his seat to make his reply. . . Daniel webster (ma) and sen. Hayne of . . At the foundation of the constitution of these new Northwestern states, . . Massachusetts Senator Daniel Webster's "Second Reply" to South Carolina Senator Robert Y. Hayne has long been thought of as a great oratorical celebration of American Nationalism in a period of sectional conflict. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. In 1830, the federal government collected few taxes and had two primary sources of revenue. a. an explanation of natural events that is well supported by scientific evidence b. a set of rules for ethical conduct during an experiment c. a statement that describes how natural events happen d. a possible answer to a scientific question I understand the honorable gentleman from South Carolina to maintain, that it is a right of the state legislatures to interfere, whenever, in their judgment, this government transcends its constitutional limits, and to arrest the operation of its laws. In fact, Webster's definition of the Constitution as for the People, by the People, and answerable to the People would go on to form one of the most enduring ideas about American democracy. . He was a lawyer turned congressional representative who eventually worked his way to the office of U.S. Secretary of State. Mr. Hayne having rejoined to Mr. Webster, especially on the constitutional question. What idea was espoused with the Webster-Hayne debates? Hayne's First Speech (January 19, 1830) Webster's First Reply to Hayne (January 20, 1830) Hayne's Second Speech (January 21, 1830) Webster's Second Reply to Hayne (January 26-27, 1830) This page was last edited on 13 June 2021, at . These verses recount the first occurrence of slavery. An undefinable dread now went abroad that men were planning against the peace of the nation, that the Union was in danger; and citizens looked more closely after its safety and welfare. The 1830 WebsterHayne debate centered around the South Carolina nullification crisis of the late 1820s, but historians have largely ignored the sectional interests underpinning Webster's argument on behalf of Unionism and a transcendent nationalism. . To all this, sir, I was disposed most cordially to respond. There was an end to all apprehension. The impression which has gone abroad, of the weakness of the South, as connected with the slave question, exposes us to such constant attacks, has done us so much injury, and is calculated to produce such infinite mischiefs, that I embrace the occasion presented by the remarks of the gentleman from Massachusetts, to declare that we are ready to meet the question promptly and fearlessly. . South Carolinas Declaration of the Causes of Secession (1860), Jefferson Daviss Inaugural Address (1861), Documents in Detail: The Webster-Hayne Debates, Remarks in Congress on the Tariff of Abominations, Check out our collection of primary source readers. He describes fully that old state of things then existing. Pet Banks History & Effects | What are Pet Banks? The main issue of the Webster-Hayne Debate was the nature of the country that had been created by the Constitution. I will struggle while I have life, for our altars and our fire sides, and if God gives me strength, I will drive back the invader discomfited. They significantly declare, that it is time to calculate the value of the Union; and their aim seems to be to enumerate, and to magnify all the evils, real and imaginary, which the government under the Union produces. Two leading ideas predominated in this reply, and with respect to either Hayne was not only answered but put to silence. Robert Young Hayne spent more than two decades in elected offices, including mayor of Charleston, member of South Carolina's legislature, attorney general, and then governor of the state. Finally, sir, the honorable gentleman says, that the states will only interfere, by their power, to preserve the Constitution. The growing support for nullification was quite obvious during the days of the Jackson Administration, as events such as the Webster-Hayne Debate, Tariff of 1832, Order of Nullification, and Worcester v. Georgia all made the tension grow between the North and the South. I say, the right of a state to annul a law of Congress, cannot be maintained, but on the ground of the unalienable right of man to resist oppression; that is to say, upon the ground of revolution. An error occurred trying to load this video. . They undertook to form a general government, which should stand on a new basisnot a confederacy, not a league, not a compact between states, but a Constitution; a popular government, founded in popular election, directly responsible to the people themselves, and divided into branches, with prescribed limits of power, and prescribed duties. The Webster-Hayne debates began over one issue but quickly switched to another. . All of these contentious topics were touched upon in Webster and Hayne's nine day long debate. MTEL Speech: Public Discourse & Debate in the U.S. Address to the People of the United States, by the What are the main points of difference between Webster and Hayne, especially on the question of the nature of the Union and the Constitution? It laid the interdict against personal servitude, in original compact, not only deeper than all local law, but deeper, also, than all local constitutions. . . . Are we in that condition still? The Senate debates between Whig Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Democrat Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina in January 1830 started out as a disagreement over the sale of Western lands and turned into one of the most famous verbal contests in American history. On that system, Carolina has no more interest in a canal in Ohio than in Mexico. One was through protective tariffs, high taxes on imports and exports. The people had had quite enough of that kind of government, under the Confederacy. But the feeling is without all adequate cause, and the suspicion which exists wholly groundless. . For Calhoun, see the Speech on Abolition Petitions and the Speech on the Oregon Bill. Hayne's few but zealous partizans shielded him still, and South Carolina spoke with pride of him. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Let's start by looking at the United States around 1830. Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality: The American Anti-Slavery Society, Declaration of Sent Constitution of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Appeal to the Christian Women of the South, Protest in Illinois Legislature on Slavery. Northern states intended to strengthen the federal government, binding the states in the union under one supreme law, and eradicating the use of slave labor in the rapidly growing nation. . To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. The Significance of the Frontier in American Histo South Carolinas Ordinance of Nullification. On the one side it is contended that the public land ought to be reserved as a permanent fund for revenue, and future distribution among the states, while, on the other, it is insisted that the whole of these lands of right belong to, and ought to be relinquished to, the states in which they lie. The Webster-Hayne Debate between New Hampshire Senator Daniel Webster and South Carolina Senator Robert Young Hayne highlighted the sectional nature of the controversy. . The Revelation on Celestial Marriage: Trouble Amon Hon. But, sir, we will pass over all this. The taxes paid by foreign nations to export American cotton, for example, generated lots of money for the government. The Webster Hayne Debate. Foot calling for the temporary suspension of further land surveying until land already on the market was sold (to effectively stop the introduction of new lands onto the market). Record of the Organization and Proceedings of The Massachusetts Lawmakers Investigate Working Condit State (Colonial) Legislatures>Massachusetts State Legislature. We are ready to make up the issue with the gentleman, as to the influence of slavery on individual and national characteron the prosperity and greatness, either of the United States, or of particular states.